University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
Maine (Parents & Family Weekend)
Late Fumble Return Dooms Blue Hens in 28-21 Setback To Maine
10/8/2016 7:23:00 PM | Football
The junior running back rushed for 242 yards and scored twice, including a spectacular 61-yard jaunt that tied the game in the final minutes, but his fumble with 56 seconds left was picked up by
University of Maine linebacker Austin Brown and returned 62 yards for a touchdown to lift the Black Bears to the improbable 28-21 Colonial Athletic Association victory in front of 18,108 shocked fans at soggy Delaware Stadium Saturday afternoon. Maine had taken a 21-14 lead with 5:48 left to play when quarterback Dan Collins and Jaleel Reed hooked up on an 11-yard scoring pass and followed with a crazy two-point conversion in which the ball was tipped by two UD defenders before falling into Reed's hands.
But the Hens came right back and went 68 yards on two plays with Hills breaking up the middle and scoring from 61 yards out to tie the game at 21-21 with 5:01 left. Hills, whose 242 yards was the fourth most in UD history and highest since 2007, cramped up during the run and limped the final 30 yards into the end zone.
The Black Bears (2-3, 1-1 CAA) then drove 53 yards but missed the chance to take the lead when Patric Leonard was wide left on a 35-yard field goal. Delaware took over and used a 27-yard run and a 14-yard reception by Hills to get down to the Maine 40. But on the next play Hills was hit by Maine linebacker Darius Greene and fumbled. Brown was there to scoop it up and maneuvered his way 62 yards down the right sideline for the winning touchdown.
Delaware (2-3, 0-2 CAA), which suffered its third straight loss, had one last chance to tie the game and send it into overtime but was 
denied when Joe Walker's desperation pass into the end zone from 29 yards out was knocked away to end the game.
“I am taking full responsibility for this loss,” said Hills during the post-game press conference. “Someone got in there and got a hand on it (to cause the fumble). I'm putting this all on me, not the coaches. I promise you it won't happen again. The numbers don't matter. All I want is the win and that's not what we did today.”
Brock, now in his fourth season at the helm of the Blue Hens, was quick to support his star co-captain.
“Wes had a great game,” said Brock. “I have a lot of respect for Wes and he is probably the most respected player on the team. Wes didn't lose that game. We should have done a lot of different things and we had plenty of opportunities to win that game. No game is defined by one play. We didn't make enough plays on offense or defense and that's why we lost the game. Wes is a stand up guy. You get a glimpse of the type of guy he is and the type of character he has.”
Delaware came out strong for the second straight game, taking its first possession and driving 68 yards to take a 7-0 lead with 8:09 left in the first quarter on a one-yard burst by Jalen Randolph (top left).
But Maine came back to take a 13-7 lead late in the second quarter thanks to two touchdown passes by Collins, who finished the day going 21 of 33 for 307 yards and two scores. He hit Earnest Edwards on a 60-yard bomb down the middle to pull Maine to within 7-6 and then gave the Black Bears the lead on a one-yard toss to a wide-open Michael Supp with 3:58 left.
But Delaware rallied to take a 14-13 lead into halftime by driving 70 yards on six plays with Hills completing the possession on a 17-yard scamper with 42 seconds left. He accounted for all but six 
yards during the scoring drive.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, setting the stage for the fourth quarter fireworks that ultimately did not go Delaware's way.
Delaware finished with 393 total yards with 319 of them coming on the ground. The Hens went into the final quarter with zero passing yards before Walker finished 6 of 16 for 74 yards passing and also added 51 yards rushing.
Defensively, defensive tackle Bilal Nichols (#92 above left) had two sacks, six tackles, and a pass breakup. Junior linebacker Charles Bell (#5 at right) led Delaware with a career-high 13 tackles while Troy Reeder had seven stops.
Maine, which counts losses to NCAA FBS opponents UConn and Toledo on its tough early season schedule, picked up 375 total yards. Micah Wright caught eight passes for 98 yards while Reed hauled in five passes for 60 yards and Edwards caught two for 62 yards. Maine played without star linebacker Christophe Mulumba Tshimanga who was injured in last week's win over Bryant.
“This is a brutal way to lose a game,” said Brock, whose team will travel to William & Mary (2-4, 0-3 CAA) next Saturday looking to return to winning ways “I feel for the kids in that lockerroom. I thought we played hard and we battled down to the end but it didn't work out. This is the type of loss that will define the players and coaches and everyone else. You have to come back and work hard. This was a shot in the gut for sure.”
HEN SCRATCHINGS:
• Hills, who is now averaging 10.2 yards per carry for the season to rank No. 2 among all NCAA FCS runners, had seven runs of 10 or more yards. His 242 yards was the most by a Delaware player since Omar Cuff ran for a school-record 288 yards vs. Delaware State in the 2007 NCAA playoffs at Delaware Stadium
• Delaware has now scored 20 or more points in the first five games of the season for the first time since the 2007 NCAA national runner-up team hit the 20-point mark in each of the first 10 games of the season
• Maine has now defeated Delaware four straight times since 2013
• Delaware CB Tenny Adewusi posted his second interception of the season in second quarter. The pick was the eighth of the season for UD, one more than the entire season's total of seven in 2015
• Delaware has now scored a point in 219 straight games at Delaware Stadium since 1983
• The Hens were playing at home for the first time since a season-opening 56-14 win over Delaware State on Sept. 1
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Scott Selheimer | selheime@udel.edu | Office: 302-831-8007 | Cell: 302-562-5129
